I’ve not done much programming in the last few years. When I first started working my job was mainly to “cut code” but I’ve done less and less as time has gone by. I now tend to concentrate on high level modelling and writing small utility scripts. I have not been doing much at home either, just minor tweaks to pre-existing software to “scratch an itch” or programs to automate tedious tasks.

• ‘Fakeproof’ e-passport is cloned in minutes – “In the tests, a computer researcher cloned the chips on two British passports and implanted digital images of Osama bin Laden and a suicide bomber. The altered chips were then passed as genuine by passport reader software used by the UN agency that sets standards for e-passports.” I feel safer already.
• Science is like a good friend: sometimes it tells you things you don’t want to hear – Many people find bald, unvarnished truths so disturbing, they prefer to ram their heads in the sand and start dreaming at the first sign of scientific reality. The more contrary evidence mounts up, the harder they’ll ignore it.
• Over-driven: why our cars guzzle gas, what to do about it – Interesting article explaining why American cars use so much petrol (gas) and their plans to reach an average of 35mpg by 2030. In the UK average fuel consumption was 38mpg a couple of years ago…

• Polly Toynbee and David Walker: an extract from their new book on the widening gap between rich and poor | Money | The Guardian – “Most dismaying was their lack of empathy and their unwillingness to contemplate other, less luxurious lives. They could not see that the pleasure they derived from possessions, prospects and doing well by their children is universal and that others deserve a share of that, too.”
• Hands on: Delicious 2 cleans up social bookmarking – In case you were wondering why a lot of my old posts suddenly reappeared in the RSS feed… First impression: looks nice.
• Objectified: A Documentary Film by Gary Hustwit – New film from the people that brought you the documentary “Helvetica.” Looks intriguing.

We climbed Mount Sinai at night, our torches illuminating just a few metres around us and the vastness of the surrounding landscape shrouded in darkness. Just after six in the morning the sun started to rise allowing us to see the Beauty of the area. “Beauty,” of course, is this weeks PhotoFriday theme.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Awful!” I’m entry number 91.

On our recent trip to Tuscany, B bought a cheap local bottle of wine not because of the wine itself — we’ve not dared taste it yet — but because the bottle was pretty. It’s been sat on the dining room table since then, gathering dust.

Last weekend I decided to take a few pictures of it. It’s not my normal kind of photography but the results were fairly respectable I think.

• NASA: 50 Years of Towering Achievement – The title pretty much says it all.
• The Process – What if a large corporation tried to design a simple Stop sign? (via kottke.org)
• July 24, 1911: Hiram Bingham ‘Discovers’ Machu Picchu – On my list of places to visit. I read that, despite the influx of tourists, that it’s still an amazing site.

• WordPress for iPhone – It turns out that my recent review of WordPress for iPhone was the four-hundredth post on ZX81.org.uk. Time for a small celebration!
• Font Conference – Typeface adventures…
• Simon Pegg’s Geek Roots Show in Spaced – I’m no longer a twenty-something, but I still love Spaced. Now available in the US.

When they first announced the App Store and the iPhone SDK I thought that a blogging tool might be something worth downloading. On the first day TypePad had their application but we had to wait until this week for the WordPress equivalent. On the plus side, WordPress for iPhone is both free and Open Source.

First impressions: it’s nice. Setting up a new blog is simple. Writing a new post is straightforward too, just press the “new” button, fill in the fields much as you would in the web interface and get typing. You can also add photos — either directly from the camera or from your photo library — but only to the end of your post.

The problem with trying to sell a lacklustre product to a disinterested audience is that even the best marketing that money can buy can’t help. Fortunately Microsoft had the wisdom not to throw good money after bad and decided to push Vista with their “The Wow Starts Now” campaign, one that neatly matched the quality of the initial operating system release. Very clever.

But recently Microsoft have decided that things have improved and that it’s worth marketing their flagship product with a little more gusto. I decided that I would help and try to think of a few new tag lines.

• Ars Book Review: “Patent Failure” – Interesting book review about the effect of patents on an industry. Apparently cost more money than they make in anything but chemical and pharmaceuticals.
• Lucky to be a Programmer – I don’t program as much as I used to but this explains why I love to when I get the chance.
• WordPress 2.6 – Usual drill. I’ve upgraded to the latest version of WordPress, the underlying software of ZX81.org.uk. If you see anything wrong please let me know!
• 20 Amazing Facts About Voting in the USA – Still in any doubt that computerised voting machines are a bad idea for free and fair elections?